Automatic brake for railway-cars



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J. C. DBYERLE. AUTOMATIC BRAKE FOR RAILWAY eARs.

No. 526,384. A Patented Sept. 25, 1894.

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J. o. DBYERLE. AUTOMATIGI BRAKE FOR RAILWAYGARS.

No. 526,384. Patentedsept. 2'3'5, 1894.`

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. Attachment, of which the following is a specie e UNITED STATI-3s`PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES C. DEYERLE, OF SALEM, VIRGINIA.

AUTOMATIC BRAKE Foa RA|LwAYoARs.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 526,384, datedseptember 25, 1894- Application filed March 7, 1894.

To a/ZZ whom, it may concern,.-

13e it known that I, JAMES C. DEYERLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Salem, 1n the county of Roanoke and Stateof Virglnia,haveinvented a new and useful Brake ication.

My invention relates to improvements in I car-brakes; the objects inview being to provide an attachment especially designed forfre1ghtcar-brakes, the same being adapted toautomatically apply thebrakes by operatlng the brake-lever whenever the cars should contact, asin descending a grade and thus prevent the several cars composing thetrain from crowding the engine; and to automatically remove the brakesfrom the wheels after lthe grade has been passed or when traveling 6 theinclined brake-levers 7.

011 a level or ascending a grade; furthermore,` to so arrange theaforesaid attachment as not to interfere with the operating of thebrakes through the ordinary hand-wheels at the ends of the cars.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in thefollowing description, and the novel features thereof will beparticularly pointed out in the claims.

`Referring to the drawingsz-Figure 1 is a bottom 4plan of a freight carhaving the brake attachment constructed in accordance with my invention.Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a front elevation ofthe car. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view.

Fig. 5 is a detail in ing-rod.

Like numerals of 'reference indicate like parts in all the figures ofthe drawings.

The car-bottom 1 comprises the usual timbers, and is mounted upon theusual trucks 2, which comprise the axles 3 and wheels 4. Located betweenthe wheels are the brakebars 5 to which are loosely coupled by eyesThese brakelevers are connected at their lowerl ends by the coupling-rod8. The inner' brake-levers have their upper ends located for loosemovement in guide-eyes 9.

Located between the two trucks is the main brake-lever 10, the samebeing pivoted between. its ends as at 11 and having its opposite endsconnected by means of couplingperspective of the operatrods and chains12'to the verticalspindles at `iny rear thereof.

Serial No. 502,678. (No model.)

the opposite ends of the car, which are oper- .i ated through the mediumof the usual handwheels 14. The outer brake-levers 7 are connectedvbythe coupling-rods l5 to the aforesaid main brake-lever 10 at oppositesides of the pivot 11 thereof, so that any oscillations upon the part ofthe main brake-lever 1 0 will be communicated to the outer brake-levers7and by means of the aforesaid coupling-rods `8 will be likewisecommunicated to the inner brake-levers, and thus `the brake-levers 5which carry the brake-shoes either separated and forced against thewheels or withdrawn therefrom, all as is well known.

I have thus described simply the usual con-l struction of brake employedon freight-cars ofrailroads, and I will now proceed to describe myattachment, whereby the said main brake-lever 10 may be automaticallyoperated by the cars descending a grade to throw on the brakes, andagain automatically operated when the cars are ascending a grade ormoving on a level to throw o the brakes, and in the former instancerelieving the engine of the gravitating tendency of the cars y At oneend of the car, at the side thereof opposite to which is located thehand-wheel,

I form in the cross-timbers of the framework i of the bottom thereoflongitudinally aligning bearings 16, and locate in said bearings areciprocating and rotatable plunger-shaft 17, which terminates at oneend beyond the end of the car and its coupler and is provided with ahead 18. Between the two front `bearings 16 I locate upon said shaft anadjustable collar 19,the same being held in position by means of abinding-bolt 20, and I interpose between said collar and a suitablewasher 21 also located upon the said shaft, a spiral spring 22, thetendency of which is to force the said rod forward so as to project itsend beyond that of the car.

In rear of the second timber in which the bearing 16 is formed I secureupon the shaft 17 a second collar 23, the same being adjustable throughthe medium of a binding-bolt 24 passing through the collar and bindingon 4the shaft. I also ylocate upon this shaft in rear of the collar 23 asleeve 25, which ter- "minates at its ends in flared heads, and hasformed at one side a tin 26. This sleeve is Ico splined upon the shaft,so that it is capable of reciprocation thereon yet cannot turn eX- ceptwith the shaft.

A coiled spring 27 is interposed between the collar 23 and the front endof the sleeve and serves to force the latter rearward in contact Withonez end of the main brake-lever 10. At the opposite side of thebrake-lever 10, upon the aforesaid shaft 17, I locate a collar 29,binding the same in position through the medium of the binding-bolt 30.I interpose between this collar and the brake-lever l a loose sleeve 31,the same having a projection upon its underside corresponding to the fin26 of the sleeve 25. Between the sleeve 3l and the rear end of theVsleeve 25 I locate upon the shaft above the lever a loose collar 32.

A plate 33 is secured to the side of the framework of the car, and hasan arm 34 that projects down into the path of the lever 10 dles at theends of the car. this attachment is to avoid the necessity of so as toprevent the same passing beyond said arm and thereby remove thebrake-shoes too far from the wheels by reason of the disposition of thecoiled spring 22. It also serves to maintain the shaft 17 at a properpoint for contacting with the car in advance thereof.

Pivoted to the front end of the car, as at 35, is a lever 36, the samehaving at its upper end radiating handles 37. The lower end of the leveris pivoted as at 38 to a link 39, and the latter is pivoted'at its outerend, as at 40, to a rock-arm 4l that extends from the shaft 17. By thismeans it will be seen that the lever may be operated, that is, swung toa vertical or inclined position, and will accordingly rotate or rock theshaft 17 to such an extent as when in an inclined position to swing thefin 26 of the sleeve 25 out of the path of the main brake-lever 10, sothat when said shaft is struck at its forward end, the aforesaid iinwill slide over or above the brake-lever and not inliuence it; or, onthe other hand, if the lever 36 is swung to a vertical position the 1inwill be lowered into the path of said brake-lever 10, and should the rod17 be forced rearward against the tension of its spring 22 the nengaging with the brake-lever 10 would carry the same rearward and applythe brakes in a yielding manner by reason of the presence of the spring27 and with the same effect as they would have if applied through themedium of the hand-wheels and brake spin- The object of applying thebrakes by hand when a train descends a grade. It is well known thatduring such descent the several cars composing the train crowd forwardby reason of their gravitating tendency and thus exert considerablestrain and force against the engine. I propose to utilize thisgravitating tendency for the application of the brakes and I accomplishthe same by the mechanism heretofore s et forth. It will be seen that asa train descends a grade the cars gravitating forward naturally crowdone against the other, each taking place in each car of the train. Thisserves to apply the brakes in the saine manner as if the brake-wheelswere operated and the brakes are applied to the wheels of the severalcars so as to throw the latter back and prevent them from crowdingagainst the engine.V As soon as an up-grade is reached, o r a level, andthe cars begin to pull back, 1t will be seen that the shafts 17 are nolonger pushed to the rear, but being released are thrown forward by thespring 22 so that they no longer iniiuence the brake-lever 10, and thebrake-shoes are immediately withdrawn from contact with the wheels ofthe cars.y

It will be seen that by reason of the presence of the spring 22 thebrake-shoes will be yieldingly held against the wheels and any excessivepressure against the brake-lever 10 avoided, so that no breakage of theparts can thus occur.

I do not limit my invention to the precise details of constructionherein shown and described, but hold that I may vary the same to anydegree and extent within the knowledge of the skilled mechanic withoutdeparting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having described my invention, what I claim is- 1. The combination witha car and its brake mechanism, of a reciprocating shaft, a projectionslidingly mounted on the shaft andv arranged to engage the lever of thebrake mechanism, and a spring disposed on the shaft and holding theprojection against the lever and forming a cushion, whereby the brake isyieldingly applied, substantially as described.

2. The combination withacar and its brakemechanism, of a reciprocatingrock shaft, means for rocking said shaft, a spring for normally pressingthe same to the front, and a brake-lever engaging projections splinedupon the shaft and yieldingly pressed into the path of the lever,substantially as specified. l

3. The combination with a car and its brakemechanism, of a reciprocatingshaft, a sleeve splined upon the shaft and having a n extending into thepath of the lever of the brake mechanism, and a spring for pressing thesleeve against the lever, substantially as specified.

4. The combination with a car, its brakemechanism and a stop extendingin front of its main brake-lever, of a reciprocating shaft, a spring fornormally pressing the same outward, and devices on said shaft forengaging the brake-lever, substantially as specified.

IOO

IIO

5. The combination witha car and its brakemechanism, of a reciprocatingshaft terminating beyond the end of the car, a lever for rocking saidshaft, a spring for normally pressing the shaft to the front, andprojections arranged on the shaft for engaging the brake-lever of thebrake system, substantially as specified.

6. The combination with a car and its brakemechanism, of longitudinallyaligning bearings at one-side of said car, a reciprocating rotary shaftarranged in the bearings, a rock-A arm at the end of the shaft, a leverfulcrumed on the end of the car, a link connecting the lower end of" thelever to the rock-arm, a spring for normally pressing the shaft outwardbeyond the end of the car, a sleeve splined upon the shaft and having an `adapted to en gage with the lever of the brakemechanism, a spring fornormally pressing the sleeve toward the lever, an adgustable sleeve inadvance of each spring, a sleeve in rear of the lever, means forsecuring the saine flxedly upon the shaft, and a loose sleeve 1nterposedbetween the fixed sleeve and the lever, substantially as specified. l I

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature 1n the presence of two witnesses.

JAMES C. DEYERLE.

